July Fourth on the Argo II
by PercyJacksonAddict
Summary: Short one-shot. Our favorite New Yorker Percy makes Independence Day a little more memorable for the Seven, with a little help from a certain fire user. Percabeth, Jasper, Frazel, and – of course – Leo! R&R!


**July Fourth on the Argo II**

**Summary: Short one-shot. Our favorite New Yorker Percy makes Independence Day a little more memorable for the Seven, with a little help from a certain fire user. Percabeth, Jasper, Frazel, and – of course – Leo! R&R!**

* * *

"HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, PASSENGERS OF THE _ARGO II_!" A short Latino boy, who could easily be mistaken for a son of Hermes, skips out of the control room and joins his friends after leaving his baby on a set course. Then he starts to sing.

"OH SAY, CAN YOU SEEEEEE…"

Five demigods on the main deck of the ship slap their hands over their ears.

Jason Grace shouts back, "Shut it, Valdez! You just blew my eardrums!"

"Ditto!" Piper McLean groans.

Percy Jackson groggily lifts his head from the crook of Annabeth Chase's neck, where he had been quite comfortable napping until the loud announcement had woken him up. "Wha…It's the Fourth of July?"

"No Seaweed Brain, Leo was lying." Annabeth smacks Percy in the back of the head to get him fully awake.

Hazel Levesque sighs as a wave of nostalgia washes over her. "I remember the fireworks back in New Orleans…" She closes her eyes dreamily and Frank Zhang tightens his arm around her shoulders, worried she's going to have another blackout.

"Too bad we're not even in the States anymore," Frank muses. "The only way we can contact people is through whatever that Greek IMing system is."

Percy's eye twitches at his own stupidity.

* * *

"Mommy!"

A grin breaks out on Percy's face when he sees the image of Sally Jackson in the Iris Message. He had been so eager to contact his mother that the "Oh Fleecy do me a solid and " needed to be interpreted by Iris herself rather than her assistant.

"Percy! How are you doing, baby? Oh, we miss you so much!"

"I'm fine, Mom. Really. I miss you too. Tell Paul I said hey. The little blowfish, too." Percy's smile widens at the thought of his three-month-old baby sister.

Sally sighs. "I told you to stop calling her your little blowfish, honey. Poseidon forbid, 'blowfish' is going to be her first word!"

Percy very maturely sticks his tongue out at his mom. "Whatever. Can I see her already? I don't care if she's asleep." He glances at his watch. It's nine thirty PM. "…I just want to see her, Mom." He feels like a terrible stepbrother, always somewhere on a quest. He missed most of the pregnancy and he isn't exactly making up for it by hopping onto a boat and sailing across the Atlantic.

Sally's expression softens at the sight of her son. She can read him like a book and she knows that he's feeling upset about not spending time with 'his little blowfish.' "Sure, I'll go get her."

Percy waits, his ADHD making him impatient.

After a minute, his mom emerges again with a little bundle of blankets in her arms. Percy grins from ear to ear when she comes closer and shows him her and Paul's daughter. He felt honored when they let him choose their child's middle name, and now he feels tears pooling in his eyes as he sees his half-sister for only the third time in his life.

Not even in person.

When he sees the little angel's face, images of his cousin Nico being tortured by giants flash into his mind. But he blinks them away and manages to focus on the baby.

"Happy Fourth of July, Angeline Bianca Blofis," he whispers.

* * *

After a long conversation with his mom, Percy comes back up to the main deck to see the usual: Frank and Hazel talking about something – probably important – in hushed tones, Piper and Jason making out, Annabeth with her nose buried in a book, and Leo running around like a deranged maniac, yelling something about having an idea.

Leo sprints up to Percy and grabs him by the shirt. "I'VE GOT AN IDEA, BRO!"

Percy glances around. The rest of them are acting like Leo isn't even there.

"That's great, man," Percy says carefully, trying not to get the son of Hephaestus too hyped up. "Did Piper let you have more than one cup of coffee at once again?"

Instead of replying, Leo drags Percy down to the engine room.

"What's up, dude? Why're we here?"

Slowly, an evil smile stretches across Leo's elf-like face. _Oh no. _

"Check this, Perce." He points to the corner of the room and Percy freezes.

A pile of fireworks. A _huge _pile of fireworks.

Percy blinks, feasting his eyes on the many colors and sizes of the packaged pyrotechnics. "How in Hades did you…"

Leo laughed. "My cabin, man. They're amazing. And they teamed up with the Hectate kids, so mortals can't see these babies when they go off. This way we won't get caught."

"Oh my gods," Percy breathes. Then he too grins and fist-pounds Leo. "Dude, this is sick! It's dark out. Let's set 'em off!"

"Glad at least _someone _likes my ideas."

* * *

The _BOOM!_s and the bright colors leave Percy and Leo's mouths in perfect upturned half-circles as they watch the beautiful display in awe. Sparks fall onto the deck, raining down on them, and the seven demigods laugh together, watching the fireworks and having a great time. Forgetting that Nico di Angelo could be dead. Forgetting that there's an army of monsters and Giants out to get them. Forgetting that Gaea could be fully awake any day now.

Percy looks around at his friends. Leo's bouncing up and down with excitement. Piper and Jason are slow-dancing without music, which Percy has learned is an old tradition of theirs. Frank and Hazel are standing with their arms around each other, both smiling broadly.

Percy grabs Annabeth by the waist and pulls her close to him. They stand side by side and watch as the night sky continues to light up with bursts of color. Looking away from the brilliant show briefly, Percy spots Zoë Nightshade up in the sky to the right of where the fireworks are, watching them. Percy smiles at her, and he feels her smiling back.

The ocean breeze blows, and Percy closes his eyes momentarily to acknowledge the fact that his dad is right there with him, whether the gods are silent or not.

When he opens his eyes, he senses a newfound determination inside of him, swirling like the raging waves of the sea. They're going to do this. They're going to defeat Gaea no matter what it takes.

Leo shouts that the grand finale is about to begin, and soon the coolest fireworks Percy's seen since his last Fourth of July in New York – which was a _long _time ago – are exploding with hisses and booms and bangs. He holds Annabeth close and she wraps her arms around his neck. Then he dips her, grinning like the fool that he is. She laughs, and her grey eyes twinkle, reflecting the fireworks.

And as he bends his head down to kiss her neck, he's sure that this is one of the best Independence Days he's ever had.

-Fin-

* * *

**Well, what'd you think? I love writing PJO/HoO oneshots :D I really hope to post more soon, especially since I'm a hardcore Percabeth, Jasper, and Frazel shipper. I also ship Leo/Me. My name's Jess, so I need a mashup name with Leo. Less…Jeo…JEO!**

**Yeah, I ship JEO so hard, bro. Lol.**

**So. REVIEW AND I'LL GIVE YOU A CUPCAKE! *pulls out basket of cupcakes***

**Press the button, mi amigos. Press the button.**


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